MMH using 2 new newborn initiatives

Published 11:45 am, Saturday, January 28, 2012

The neonatal unit at Midland Memorial Hospital has rolled out two new initiatives to help ensure healthier babies as the department experiences a "mini baby boom."

Five months ago, MMH West Campus averaged between 150 and 160 births per month, but those numbers have risen about 20 percent to between 180 and 190 births each month recently, officials said. The increase can be attributed to the city's population increase as a result of the oil boom, said Lenora Sevcik, Women's and Children's Services divisional director.

Neonatal staff members have examined initiatives to accommodate the increase duirng the past five months. The first initiative is part of a nationwide effort to try to prevent induced labor before a baby's 39th week of gestation, or development.

Sevcik said studies have shown that babies still mature in the last weeks of a woman's pregnancy. Inducing early -- such as at 38 or 39 weeks -- hinders the final stages of development for organs such as the lungs, which can cause respiratory problems.

A full-term pregnancy lasts 40 weeks, Sevcik said.

"It really is best for the baby to stay in their mom," she said.

A year ago, members of the Women's and Children's Interprofessional Council and the Peds Section Committee at MMH approached doctors and staff about not inducing labor early unless it's medically necessary. Sevcik said the doctors agreed with the initiative, resulting in a reduced number of early inductions.

In January 2011, the number of women who were induced before 39 weeks was at 13 percent. In December 2011, that number dropped to 7 percent, according to data from MMH. About 25 percent of all pregnancies at MMH are induced, Sevcik said.

She said she has met with staff at Odessa and Lubbock hospitals, and they also are pushing the initiative.

A second initiative, which began in November, created a neonatal hypoglycemic control protocol. This initiative is for babies whose mothers are diabetic or who weigh 9 pounds or more at birth are at a higher risk for problems with low blood sugar, Sevcik said. For the first 24 hours of the baby's life, nurses perform periodic screenings and monitor the newborn's blood sugar levels.

"It's very important that a baby's brain has glucose," she said.

Sevcik said the sugar is important for growth and functioning.

After researching articles and accumulating data from infants at the MMH nursery, officials said they launched the protocol.

Staff members are researching potential future initiatives.

"We want to stay current and have evidence-based standards that are good for the patients," Sevcik said. "Slowly, but surely, we'll keep moving forward and see what's happening across the country and what's proving to be a good standard for initiatives."